Noah's Bookman: Aftermath
by Saturnalius
Summary: The final battle between the Noah and the Exorcists resonates through the world (see Noah's Bookman), both sides suffering massive damages and losses. But soon, as much history does, it is forgotten, woven into legends and tales no one quite believes. 5 years later, a mysterious historian calling himself Mr. Bookman surfaces in a small town in England. A new record begins again.
1. Alone

He'd come sometime in the middle of the night. No one was quite sure when. No one had heard him arrive, but sure enough, there he was. He stood atop a ladder, adjusting a sign with a freshly painted image of a book he was hanging over the door to his shop. The shop had been empty since the last owner died about a year ago. No one in the village had the money to buy it, but somehow this mysterious man did.

He'd gathered a bit of an audience, mostly women and girls, a few boys and even fewer men in the crowd. Most of the men were off doing manual labor, earning what they could to support their families. It was a simple working class town in England, rather poor and small, but still thriving. Houses littered the flat area of the town. Nearby was a hillside with a somewhat thick forest covering the top, a lake a bit farther down the opposing side. In the center of the town was a small church with a wooden roof and a large cross planted on the center of the roof.

"You know we can't read, right?"

The stranger turned. His hair was somewhat uneven at the edges, cut very short, brilliant red contrasting a black eyepatch and one bright green visible eye. His clothes were simple, a black shirt over white pants with knee-high boots with thick soles.

"Yeah," he nodded, descending the ladder to be at the same level as his audience. He glanced at each one, observing the nuances of the people he'd wordlessly gathered. None looked very well kept. Their outfits stained. Some had injuries or were possibly sick with something. Others just looked horribly worn out.

"I'm here t' teach ya how to read." He added a pleasant smile and a slight tilt of the head, inviting them to draw closer. He had an unusual accent unlike any they'd ever heard. Even by his appearance, the gathered villagers could tell he wasn't from around the area. Yet as not a soul within the village had traveled much past the nearby larger city, so no one truly knew where he came from. However the smile he wore was rather inviting and strangely intriguing. "Throw in some math, history, whatever ya want."

"Teach us?" one woman asked, scoffing. She had several children with her, holding on to her long skirt, all of which were dirty from playing in the dust. The children didn't have many toys if any, so they improvised, tending to play with one another, running about in the dust during the day. "We don't have the kind of money for a tutor." How much a tutor cost was a mystery, but each parent knew that they couldn't afford it. That was stuff for the rich, upper class folk.

"Money doesn't mean much t' me," the stranger admitted with a shrug. He had no need for it, and it generally only brought trouble. Besides, he'd already had enough to pay for this shack of a shop, and that was really all he needed. Bartering and exchanges would pay for the rest. "All I ask for in return is supplies 'n info."

The audience glanced back and forth, curiously, as if uncertain what to make of this strange man. He'd come into their village, a total mystery, offering them something previously believed unattainable. Perhaps it still was.

"Doesn't say much for us girls," one frowned. She was probably 12, brown hair pulled into low pigtails, a noticeable rash on the left side of her face. She was just a girl. What place did she have in learning anyway? She would grow up to be a housewife and eventually a mother, probably dying from complications through childbirth.

The stranger shrugged. "Don't see how that'll make a difference, yeah. I'll teach anyone who's willin' t' listen." His words were surprising to the audience he'd gathered. No one really had bothered to teach them anything as women were meant to stay within the household, not become scholars.

"What kinda info?" the woman with the kids asked again. He was beginning to pique her interest. Her tone had quieted, shifting from antagonistic to something slightly more personable. Uncertainty still laced her voice, but so did hope. If her children could learn, perhaps they'd lead a better, more fulfilling life.

"Legends, folktales, stories handed down from generation t' generation," he replied, shoving his hands into his pockets as he rocked back and forth in his boots. He maintained that friendly smile, watching the crowd relax a bit. They were easy to speak to and easy to sway. The price for learning seemed simple enough. It was definitely something they could do.

"See, I'm a historian. I travel the world collectin' myths 'n legends, writin' down the stories and history no one else bothers t' write." This historian was a Bookman, after the truth and history that inspired the legends. For the last two years, he'd been traveling across Europe, collecting information and comparing the differences between each area's legends. He was already finding common threads between each one, and that common thread had lead him here.

"What's your name, mister?" a younger girl asked, her blond hair pulled back into twin braids.

"Call me Bookman," he replied.

...

Five years ago, everything had come to a screeching halt.

The war between the Noah and the Exorcists had escalated into a full-on confrontation in the backyard of the Earl's house. Victory was almost certain for the Noah until an unexpected guest arrived: Nea. The traitorous Noah mowed down Exorcist and Noah alike, all to achieve his master goal and take the Earl's place as head of the family. No one had a chance.

Lavi hadn't entered the fight, standing off to the side, observing, hoping the Noah would become the true victors. But the battle crept up on him quickly as he soon came face to face with his worst nightmare, cold steel piercing straight through his chest. Kanda had finally finished his secret mission. He had finally driven his blade through the Noah's Bookman. Lavi attempted to fight him off, to delay the inevitable, but the Exorcist quickly made work of his weaponry, shattering the Dark Matter Hammer, leaving the Bookman defenseless.

Several of the Noah called out but weren't able to reach as the Exorcists quickly intervened. It was a vicious three ring circus that was quickly turning the battle upside down. One by one the Noah fell, until only the Earl remained. Many of the Exorcists had fallen too, some to the Noah and others to Nea. Feathers fluttered about as the Earl and Nea finally faced off, the war ending with each stabbing the other in the heart. Neither had won, and they both fell.

And then it all went black.

Six months later, Lavi awoke, alive. A scar spanned his chest where Kanda had driven his blade, but his heart still beat. The Exorcist didn't know that Lavi's heart was on the right side, not the left. That odd malformation had saved his life.

Bookman had further ensured Kanda hadn't fully killed his apprentice by secretly throwing an acupuncture needle at Lavi, paralyzing him so that his body would stay alive but appear dead, a ploy so perfect everyone believed him to be dead.

Lavi spent time trying to forget everything he'd felt, his personal experiences with the Noah. He was a Bookman. His personal feelings didn't matter, and he had to remember that. The Noah were just ink, right?

But he couldn't forget, he couldn't let those feelings of belonging go. For once, he didn't feel so alone. Instead of casting them aside, Lavi tucked them away in the far recesses of his mind. They would remain there for his own reference, a reminder not to get so close, that the ink wasn't much more than a smear across the pages in a history book. It left him cold and uncaring as he constantly lied to himself, pretending nothing happened between him and the Noah. History drove him, and that was all that mattered.

Three years prior to today, Lavi became a full-fledged Bookman. They parted ways, the old man heading somewhere unknown, and Lavi was left by himself. Alone. And that was how he was to remain: alone.

…

**Author's musings**

Hello and welcome to a new chapter in the Noah's Bookman saga! If you don't know what the hell's going on, please read the original Noah's Bookman!

So I know that I got a lot of comments the previous one ended abruptly, so I'll tell you why. Initially this was supposed to be an epilogue to the original story, but then I got carried away as I started to weave a new tale. The epilogue ended up being nearly 30 pages. That's a bit much for an epilogue, right? I don't really know how to do short stories…..

So here's a new story, a continuation in the Noah's Bookman saga, a bit darker and more psychological. And strange. I like strange. I hope you all enjoy!


	2. The angel of life

"Have you heard about the Angel of Life, Mr. Bookman?"

The redhead had just finished a class teaching some of the young girls how to read when he heard one of the mothers, Sandy, speak up. She was pretty ordinary, long brown hair that nearly reached her waist with a curious scar on her face. Lavi had never asked about the scar in the two months since he'd arrived, but he figured she'd never tell. He wasn't necessarily interested in the people of the town anyway, just their legends.

"Do tell," the Bookman replied. He'd heard plenty of legends about angels and demons, of life and death. It was probably going to be the same one he'd heard throughout Europe, probably in relation to one of the high angels in Christian lore. After his run-in with the Order and the Vatican, he wasn't exactly fond of that sort of story.

"You know that hill behind the blacksmith's house, right?" she continued.

Lavi nodded. He knew of it but hadn't necessarily gone to explore it. He wasn't all too interested in geographical notes in his record.

"At the top of the hill there's a graveyard," she continued following his nod. "There's also a statue made of clay. No one's really sure who put it there, but it's pretty big. Can't miss it. Anyway, legend has it that if you pray to that statue after someone dies, the Goddess of Life will bring him back for you. Ronald said he'd seen the Goddess doing her magic."

Lavi paused for a moment. Her words were hauntingly familiar, connecting to a previous record he'd tried to close. "The statue, is it an angel?"

Sandy nodded with a smile, assuming he'd heard of the legend as well. "Yep, that's the one. Real pretty. You should go see it."

...

For the first time in two months, Lavi closed the shop. He had to see the statue. It wasn't the first time he'd encountered the legend. His first encounter was in a small town in France. At the time, he had been staying with the Noah less than two years. It was before the Vatican had really ever seen him. Lavi had followed the legend of a Dawn Goddess who would bring people back to life. That was the first time the Earl had shown Lavi how akuma came to be.

Doug, a Finder for the Order, had lost a friend and wanted her brought back. So he prayed to the Dawn Goddess to bring his friend, Colette, back from the dead. The Earl did, bringing her soul into a dark matter form which consumed Doug and stole his skin. Creepy little thing that dark matter form was, making Lavi very glad he was on good terms with the Earl.

The Bookman had encountered similar statues after that in various countries as he traveled about, tracking Exorcists and legends. He'd encountered one in India called the Avatar of Visnhu the Preserver. The one he'd found in China was called the Divine Dragon of Life. He had found others, but despite the names all being different, the statue was relatively similar, taking on the form of a winged person, an angel. Lavi had also considered the idea he'd encountered the Dawn Goddess statues before his stay with the Noah yet probably considered them as just another angel statue.

Ronald's house wasn't too far from Lavi's. The man had made a living nailing shoes together and making shoe strings, a pretty prominent business for a mercantile town. And he was very good at what he did. He'd even repaired the worn soles on Lavi's favorite boots.

The door to his shoe shop was open and Lavi invited himself in, smiling brightly at some of the other locals who were just finishing a purchase.

"Come back for another repair?" Ronald spoke up, seeing the Bookman enter. Ronald was an older man, white hair slowly overtaking the brown, giving it an odd salt and pepper look. He wore a pair of wire-framed glasses, poorly bent out of shape.

"Information, actually," Lavi replied. The town knew very well that was all the Bookman ever seemed to want. He rarely asked for much more, mostly kept to himself, though the girls often wondered how such a friendly and intelligent guy could stay so single. "I hear ya know some good info." The redhead fished a single silver coin from his pocket and set it on the counter. "Very good info."

Rarely had anyone seen the Bookman handle money. He never asked for any but always seemed to have some. It made the villagers curious, but questions about money were always cheerfully diverted towards another subject.

The coin caught Ronald's attention right away. That was a lot of money which could easily feed his family and buy a lot of supplies for his business. "What do you wanna know?"

Lavi took a seat next to the cobbler, leaning slightly forward in interest. "I hear ya've seen the Goddess of Light."

Not quite the statement Ronald had expecting, as he almost had sewn his own hand to the shoe he was repairing. He must've heard it from Sandy as she was the only one he'd told. "That's right."

"Recently?" Lavi quickly asked.

Ronald nodded. "'bout four or five months ago, I think."

"Tell me about it," Lavi requested.

"I'll do you one better," he countered. "I'll show you."

...

Lavi followed the cobbler curiously. Four months was really recent. Even if he had said four years, it still wouldn't have made any sense. He saw the Earl die with his own eyes, and as far as the Bookman knew, the Earl was what brought everyone back. Without him, that was it. The end. He considered for a moment that someone else had taken the Earl's place, that someone else was continuing the legend.

"At that time, Howard, the weaver, had lost his son," Ronald stated as they entered the edge of the woods. The climb wasn't that steep but it was a noticeable hill. "The Angel of Life ain't exactly a secret; we all know 'bout it."

That legend never was. It was far too tantalizing to keep quiet. Lavi pushed some brush aside, noting the area, the contours of the hillside and the foliage that lived there.

"Problem was, Howard was a bit of a coward," Ronald continued. "He wouldn't go alone into the woods. Said they were haunted or some nonsense."

Hauntings weren't necessarily real, but even Lavi could feel a sort of eerie solemnity in the forest, that there weren't any other living animals here, not even birds. The forest definitely was off.

"So I went with him," Ronald pushed a few tree branches out of the way, making sure they didn't hit Lavi as he passed them. "He prays to the statue, just like the legend says to do, an' sure enough someone appears. Beautiful woman, dressed all in white. She looked like a princess, that's for sure."

A woman? Someone was taking the Earl's place, but it couldn't have been Nea, unless he decided to start cross-dressing.

"All this light surrounded us, an' it was too bright to see," Ronald continued farther up the hill. There was a clearing ahead with gravestones, the graveyard Sandy had mentioned. "But next thing I knew, there was Howard, hugging his little boy."

"Happened right here," Ronald indicated, pointing at the clearing.

They stepped into the clearing, the trees forming a nearly perfect circle around the graveyard. And sure enough, in the center was a rather crude statue of an angel, her hands folded before her as if she were praying, wings outstretched. It was much more crude than any of the statues he'd come across but it was definitely a Dawn Goddess statue.

A shrill scream echoed through the woods suddenly, sending a chill up the Bookman's spine. "That normal for this forest?"

Ronald shook his head. "This place is always dead quiet. That sounded like it came from the city."

Lavi nodded. "I'll go check it out."

"Me too," Ronald stated, taking off down the hillside. For an old man, Ronald was quick on his feet and rather agile too, avoiding the roots and stray branches with ease. Lavi shot after him, weaving between the trees and attempting to not fall and roll down the hill.

They reached the bottom of the hill where Ronald stopped dead in his tracks, Lavi nearly colliding into his backside. "What in God's name is that?!"

Lavi knew what it was right away, his one visible eye widening with shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was absolutely impossible, yet there it was. "Akuma..."

…

**Author's musings**

Hello time jump. Lavi's been a busy little Bookman, establishing himself in this small English town. And look what's returned. The Dawn Goddess and an Akuma. What a day Lavi is having so far. Certainly an adventure with the cobbler.

The incident in France is based on the light novel and is the basis for a chapter in the original Noah's Bookman named Finders Keepers. Just in case you forgot, since that was like 20 (30?) chapters ago.


	3. Shadows of the past

It was a rotund thing, floating in the air, hovering above the girls who cried as they pressed themselves against the wall. The akuma was young, unevolved, and hungry. It was a surprising sight to see, since the Earl was long-since dead. But if someone had carried on the Dawn Goddess legend, it was possible another Earl had somehow manifested. Or maybe it was that traitor Nea coming back from the dead.

Whatever the case, there one was, floating before them. Normally Lavi wouldn't have cared, letting the Akuma eat to its heart's content, watching it evolve. Yet right now, that akuma was about to eat his resources, the people who knew the local legends. He couldn't have that. Not to mention a show of strength would gain their trust.

"Hey!" Lavi shouted at it. The akuma ball turned to face the redhead.

"What're you doing?" Ronald quickly protested, worry lacing his voice

Lavi waved the cobbler off, stepping out to approach the akuma. He reached for the cross only to remember it had been taken from him years ago. It felt so natural to reach for it, he didn't give it second thought. And without it, he was just an ordinary human. After all, why should he expect the Noah to remember him? He was just a human.

But Lavi had a backup plan. From his pocket he removed a small stick which extended into a long staff. He'd picked up the thing a few years back when he visited China. A staff wasn't enough to fight an akuma, but Lavi had a trump card.

The akuma left the girls and floated slowly towards Lavi, who stood quite firmly, staff in hand. Behind the Bookman, Ronald had taken several steps back into the forest's edge. He wasn't sure what that thing was, but he knew it was evil.

"Leave," the Bookman demanded.

The akuma seemed to laugh at his demand, completely disregarding it. "Ekka is hungry."

"Well Ekka will have to wait," Lavi shot back. He lunged at the akuma, hitting it repeatedly with the staff. But it wasn't just an ordinary hit. Lavi had laced it with a sharp wind which cut into the akuma's body, leaving it shaking in pain as it backed away.

Lavi had a secret, one so deep that not even old man Bookman ever knew. During the final battle against the Exorcists, Kanda had shattered Lavi's akuma hammer. It shattered like glass, shards flying in nearly every direction. One shard, a rather large one, had bonded itself with Lavi's wrist. It wasn't visible and it caused him no harm, but it was there. He could feel it when he pressed on his wrist, guessing the size and shape. It didn't seem to shrink or grow; it was just there. No scars revealed its location, no bruising in its wake. It was literally just there.

And sometime later, Lavi discovered that he still had his elemental abilities because of it.

"Leave," the Bookman repeated, his stance sharp and his expression stern. If he could avoid a fight, he would prefer to take that path, but this was an akuma. Reasoning with it was like trying to herd cats. It would only listen to the Noah and its own incessant need to feed. Lavi had gotten them to somewhat listen to him before, but that was only because of the cross he wore and that the Noah told them to do it.

But right now, there were no Noah around to help give his words some force. The Bookman was just a lone human, and that meant he was food. So Ekka didn't want to leave. Ekka was hungry. It lurched forward. "Hungry!" it shouted as it quickly dug its teeth into the Bookman's right shoulder.

Lavi didn't have a chance to react. His inexperience in battle was once again getting the better of him. He let out a cry, but it was short lived. He remembered a worse pain than this, particularly when Kanda drove a sword through his chest. The Bookman took the staff into his left hand and jammed one end of the staff into Ekka's face. "Burn."

Lavi never particularly used his fire element, though he'd always known it was there. It felt too aggressive for him, but right now, fire was exactly what he needed. Ekka quickly released Lavi's shoulder, leaving Lavi to stagger sideways a bit before falling to his knees. The akuma writhed in pain, wiggling backwards as smoke flowed out of its mouth. But the writhing was short-lived as something black shot through the air and impacted with Ekka, and caused it to explode.

Exorcist.

She landed on the ground, "Is everyone okay?" She wasn't very tall, with long black hair pulled into pigtails. Her coat was black with gold piping. The back was long, forming two coat tails, while the front was short, exposing her layered white skirt. Her boots were made of Innocence, sticking to her legs and traveling almost all the way up her thighs.

Even worse. Exorcist _general_.

"Mr. Bookman's hurt," Ronald replied, emerging from the forest's edge to help Lavi who had doubled over on the ground, grabbing at his shoulder.

"Bookman?" she echoed in surprise. She looked at the doubled over person whom Ronald had indicated. She had expected to see the old man Bookman but this wasn't him at all.

Ronald knelt down next to Lavi. He didn't know anything about medicine at all but was willing to help. Sandy had rushed over with a damp cloth to place on his shoulder to stop the bleeding. She had seen the entire ordeal as she was watching her children play when the akuma had first arrived. They were her children - hers and Ronald's - and Lavi had just helped save them perhaps at the cost of his own safety and wellbeing.

The Bookman wasn't doing so well. He hadn't stood up, but instead remained seated on the ground, one foot curled under him and the other carelessly bent to the side. He hunched over forward, holding his shoulder. It wasn't the worst pain he'd felt, but that didn't mean the wound didn't hurt immensely. It wasn't the pain but the realization this might be the end for him that was worse.

Lavi was well aware of the akuma blood disease, deadly and full of stars. He'd always been on the other side of the battle, watching the akuma but never staying to see the full onset of the disease. Probably a dumb mistake. It had him curious but the Earl had explained it quite distinctly, calling it a cleansing with stars.

And now here was the Bookman, once an ally to the Noah, suffering from the disease he had avoided so well. Or so he thought. He didn't see any stars form on his arm which had gotten bitten. The onset was often pretty quick, especially for such a deep wound. Ekka had clamped onto Lavi's shoulder and when the Bookman set it on fire, the akuma took a lot of flesh with it. The onset _should_ have been incredibly quick, but it wasn't.

The Exorcist approached, kneeling down. She paused for a moment, surprised, almost as if she were looking at a ghost. In truth, she was. She was there at the final battle. She'd watched her friends die, and she'd also saw Kanda drive his blade through Lavi's heart for reasons she couldn't understand. She saw him die, she saw old man Bookman mourn the loss of his apprentice. But how was it possible that he was here. Right now. Alive.

"Bookman?"

Lavi looked up at her. He knew immediately who she was. Lenalee Lee. He'd seen her a few times yet never fully interacted with her. He knew she was close to Allen and Kanda, both dead from the past war. War was cruel like that. "Long time no see, huh."

That was not quite what Lenalee had expected to hear from the Bookman, especially not after everything that had happened during the previous war. Then again, what exactly _did_ she expect to hear from a guy she thought was dead?

"Are you okay?" Such a stupid question, given the circumstances. He probably wouldn't live much longer given the wound and the eventual onset of the blood disease.

"I'm fine, I'll live," he replied. He pulled himself to his feet with the help of the cobbler and his wife. He felt faint, dizzy, undoubtedly from the blood loss from his shoulder. He staggered a bit before returning to the ground with a hard thud, as everything quickly went black.

…

**Author's musings**

Not quite who you expected to show up, is it? Lenalee survived the ordeal and is now a general. Unsurprising, really, as Hoshino-sensei really seemed to lead her in that direction. I really like her childish look with the pigtails, so I've returned her to that look but kept the uniform sort of a combination of a few different ones.

Lena was one of my favorite exorcists, honestly. She's a strong girl driven by her desires to protect her family and everything she believes right. She never really had an impact on the original story, but as she's one of few who's actually survived, she'll have her small chance here.


	4. Cleansing with stars

He awoke with a start, scanning the room with one usable eye. He was alive; he could feel his heart beat quickly for a moment but then resume back to a normal pace. He could see his arms in the morning sunlight, star-free. He'd avoided the blood disease and somehow made it back into his own bed.

Now that he thought about it, Lavi knew what prevented the disease. It was blatantly obvious. The shard of dark matter that had embedded itself in his right arm, it was a piece of the same material which made akuma. Akuma and Noah alike were immune to the blood disease, but humans weren't. Somehow the shard had to prevent the spread of the disease and saved his life once again. He could continue, but for how long? The Exorcist would probably blab that she'd seen Lavi very much alive, and the Vatican would no doubt be at his throat again, compromising his records.

"It's good to see you're awake."

Lavi shot quickly out of bed, surprised by the voice, reaching for something to use to fight but instead found himself grabbing his head. Such a pounding headache, no doubt from the loss of blood. "Thought you woulda left by now."

Lenalee shook her head, offering him some tea, which he quickly refused. "We wanted to make sure you were okay." She had worried about him. Before the final battle, the situation would've played out differently. And before that battle, Lavi wouldn't have been attacked by an akuma in the first place. When she took care of him, she saw the scar Kanda had left on his chest during the final battle. There were other scars too, deep scars, but from what she didn't know.

"I'm fine. You can leave now." His voice was incredibly neutral. No sign of forcefulness or hatred towards her. He just wanted her gone. He didn't want anything to do with the Order or its people. Yet there was something about her previous statement that seemed off. It didn't occur to him at first, but it hit him after he'd spoken. "We?" Lavi asked.

"Yes, we." He walked into the room behind Lenalee. He wasn't too much taller than her, his face very angular and sharp, his hair pulled back with a thin headband. Chaozii Han. Lavi hadn't interacted with him at all, but he'd seen him a few times. The only thing Lavi really knew about him was that Chaozii vehemently hated anything Noah and anyone associated with them.

"Ya aren't here t' make sure I survived the attack, are ya?" Lavi felt cornered. He was in a room with two Exorcists and in no condition to fight. Lenalee was incredibly fast, and Chaozii was incredibly strong. They could break him quickly, and he wouldn't even know what hit him. "You're here for info."

He watched the two for a moment. Lenalee appeared very sympathetic and concerned, perhaps genuinely so. Chaozii had done nothing but grit his teeth.

"I can't tell ya anything, so ya might as well leave."

Chaozii frowned sharply, stepping around Lenalee to attempt to take hold of Lavi, who quickly stepped away. Lavi was still unsteady, and the Exorcist quickly took advantage of it. "Why not? Are you still loyal to the Noah?!" Chaozii was visibly angry, and would probably tear Lavi's arms off, given the opportunity.

Chaozii was a good half a foot shorter than Lavi, and if it weren't for the overwhelming strength the Exorcist had, Lavi wouldn't be the least bit nervous about the current situation.

"Nothin' t' do with that," Lavi replied. His voice had grown flat, emotionless, contrary to his usual sing-song tone. His expression matched. He'd grown so emotionally flat since the final battle, bottling all his pain and sorrow up and storing it in the far recesses of his mind, that he simply didn't feel anything anymore. "Can't tell ya 'cuz of the Bookman's code. If it ain't your record, I can't tell ya."

"Tell me!" Chaozii demanded again, his voice getting louder.

"Can't," Lavi replied, his demeanor remaining flat and emotionless.

Chaozii was growing increasingly more irritated with Lavi, who was simply running the Exorcist around in circles. Lavi was first and foremost loyal to the Bookman Clan and its rules, but Chaozii's severe hatred for anything Noah was blinding his reasoning. He strengthened his grip on the Bookman's arms, trying not to break down and cry.

"Chaozii," Lenalee finally spoke up. "Let him go."

"You're still with them, aren't you?!" Chaozii shouted. "That's why you can't tell us! You're with _them_!"

Lavi winced but continued to glare straight at Chaozii. "Case ya haven't noticed, they're dead." His voice had grown sharper, laced with anger and a bit of hatred. They were gone because of the Order and the Exorcists. They were gone because of that bastard Nea running around inside Allen Walker's body. And without the Earl around, there was no known way they could return. The Earl seemed to be the catalyst. He'd been around since the beginning and now he was gone. However, after his conversation with Sandy and Ronald about the Dawn Goddess, Lavi was doubting they actually stayed dead.

"'sides, if they returned, I'm just another human t' them. There's no reason at all they'd remember me." He knew how the Noah memory worked. They remembered information about the family, about their powers, about their aspect. Lavi was just a human. While they called him family, he could never truly be one of them. He couldn't be remembered generation after generation. It was a crushing thought.

"Chaozii!" Lenalee grabbed his arm. "Stop it!"

"How can you use that sort of power?!" Chaozii continued. "I saw that fire you used against the akuma! The Noah gave that to you, didn't they?!"

"Do ya even listen t' yourself before you speak?" Lavi frowned sharply. He was getting irritated as he was in an immense amount of pain. He also had an Exorcist accusing him of everything under the sun.

"Give me a straight answer!" Chaozii demanded.

If that would get him off his case, then fine. "I'm an accomodator."

Chaozii paused, his grip loosening on the Bookman's arms, and Lenalee simply gasped in surprise. They didn't know, did they? Lavi didn't expect them to know anyway, as the Order seemed to have a bad tendency to misuse and probably misinform their people.

Lavi wriggled free of the grip, stepping back a bit. "That's where the power comes from. I learned 't control it." The statement was only partially true. He was an accomodator and his power did stem from that. His control didn't come from some mental discipline or ancient secret. It was emphasized by the dark matter shard in his wrist.

"Then you could be an Exorcist," Lenalee spoke first. "You could come with us."

"Not a chance," Lavi shot back quickly. He'd already turned down the opportunity when Cyril destroyed his matching Innocence back when they were playing with Alma. "'sides ya see this scar?" He traced the one which spanned shoulder to collar bone. Years later, it still hadn't healed and continued to look rather fresh. "Your friend Kanda Yuu gave this t' me first time he tried t' take my life. In fact, all these scars're from him. So forgive me if I turn your offer down, yeah?"

Lenalee looked crushed. She had only heard of what Kanda had done but to see it was a different matter. It hurt her to see one of her friends had done this, had tried to kill another human.

"Now if ya don't mind, I got a lot'a stuff t' do so leave." The Bookman watched them carefully, observing them, hoping they wouldn't make another move against him.

Chaozii moved to grab Lavi again, but he was quickly intercepted by Lenalee's heel in his ribs. "We're leaving, Chaozii."

"What?!" he protested sharply.

"Bookman," she turned to Lavi, attempting to push Chaozii out the door. "I wish you would change your mind, but until you do, we'll keep your location and presence a secret."

"We will?!" Chaozii objected.

Lenalee nodded. "Bookman must've gone through so much trouble to keep your survival a secret. I couldn't bear to see him lose you again." Even though she had no idea where he was, she couldn't bear the thought. He had looked so miserable, holding Lavi's seemingly dead body. She never thought he was capable of emotions until that day.

But there was a mutual understanding between the two. Lenalee understood what the old man had done, how much work he had to do to fake Lavi's death. Lavi could respect that, and hoped she would keep her word. "Thanks."


	5. Chasing a rabbit

The Bookman came face to face with someone he hadn't seen in years. Brown suit, blond hair pulled back into a braid, and two curious spots on his forehead. Lavi paused, but it wasn't from surprise of seeing old Two-spots again. Link had brought friends. Lots of them. There was a subtle difference in the rooftops nearby, a shift in the scenery, seemingly invisible changes, but to a Bookman, they were blatantly obvious. Those two Exorcists must've blabbed. He took her word for truth, and they betrayed his trust, his location, his existence, and in only a matter of three days, no less.

"I just want to talk," Link spoke first.

Lavi narrowed his one visible eye at him. "Somehow I doubt that, Two-spot. Ya brought company."

Link shifted his weight, surprised by Lavi's keen observing skills. Then again, why should he be surprised? He'd seen the old man Bookman's skills in observation. It only seemed right that his apprentice would be just as good.

"Five t' the left, prob'ly more to the right," Lavi counted. The eyepatch blocked his field of view on the right, but that didn't mean he didn't notice that someone was there, someone who didn't belong.

"Keen observations, Bookman Jr," Link noted aloud.

"It's just Bookman now," Lavi corrected him.

An interesting change, Link noted. He knew very little about what had happened in the 5 years since Lavi was presumed be dead. He just knew that right now there was the Noah's Bookman standing before him, very much alive.

Some of the locals had caught sight of the pair, curiously eavesdropping in on the conversation. The locals knew very little about Lavi, save that he was a historian willing to teach anyone information in exchange for groceries.

"Bookman, then," Link corrected himself. "We still need to talk."

"Not happenin'," Lavi shook his head. "'sides, my information's protected by Bookman Code. Couldn't tell ya if I wanted." Which he didn't.

Link frowned rather sharply. He had orders to carry out. The Vatican wanted information, and it was his job to get it. He was an agent of the Vatican; it was his duty. When the Noah killed the Apocryphos, they killed the supposed betrayal he had done, effectively covering up his secret mission to track down Allen Walker and bring him back. Not that Link fully remembered, as the Apocryphos had effectively rewritten several of his memories.

The Bookman standing before him was just a historian, just a human. After the attack by the akuma only a few days prior, his arm was still visibly wounded, neatly wrapped up, but there were still no signs of Noah to help him. Link had heard details of the attack yet couldn't understand how the Bookman hadn't contracted the blood disease and died.

But this wasn't the time to think of such things. He had a job to do. Link spread his arms to the side, charmed papers appearing before him. "I'd rather we talked than fought, but it seems I have no choice."

"Ya'd fight with all these people nearby?" Lavi prodded, withdrawing his extendable staff from his pocket, bringing it to full size. With a shard of the akuma hammer embedded in his wrist, all he needed was a weapon. The elements would come naturally.

Link offered Lavi a flat look. "You would too."

"I fight t' defend myself," Lavi frowned. Bringing the staff to one side, he made a quick motion foot to opposite shoulder. As he moved, he seemed to disappear as the Void quickly masked his appearance. He spoke no commands, but instead turned and ran. The old man didn't fake his death only so that Lavi would be killed years later.

The Crow who had been hiding among the rooftops appeared next to Link.

"I want him alive," Link ordered. A dead Bookman couldn't talk.

The Crow shot off to search, their movements difficult to see as they moved quickly, yet they were visible enough to spook many of the villagers into believing they were ghosts or haunts of some sort.

...

Across town, Lavi had managed to outrun the Crow. He came across a dead end where several of his students were playing ball. Lavi stopped running, letting the Void simply fall from his form like a rolling fog. The girls jumped a moment before realizing it was Mr. Bookman. They were still on edge from the akuma attack only days ago.

"Take cover," Lavi advised them, his expression flat as he glanced over his shoulder. The Crow wouldn't be far behind him.

The girls looked back at him, very worried. "Mr. Bookman-"

He cut them off. "Ain't safe right now. Go!" The girls quickly scattered, taking cover in a nearby house.

Sure enough, there were three Crow accompanied by Link himself. Lavi gritted his teeth. There was probably no way he'd win this; running was absolutely futile, but so was fighting. Best he could do was play the hero and lead them out of the city, turning the locals against them, making the Crow out to be the villains. He had no Noah to protect him. Right now, he was on his own.

"Bookman, just come with us," Link stated.

"So ya can just kill me? Maybe kill the people here too?" Lavi frowned. "Not happenin'." He turned quickly and ran towards the building at the end of the street. A quick twist of his staff and he propelled himself to the rooftop with Wind. A glance over his shoulder and he ran off towards the woods.

"Insolent creature," hissed one of the Crow before they took off after the Bookman.

...

Lavi knew the woods somewhat well. He'd visited them right before the Akuma attack with the cobbler Ronald, listening to his tale about how he met the Dawn Goddess. Lavi knew the legend of the Dawn Goddess well, but he had to see it for himself, to touch it, to see if it was real. Lavi knew the front side of the mountain, but hadn't had a chance to explore past the graveyard where the statue stood.

The redhead bolted through the woods, through several tighter paths where the trees were denser. It would at least slow the Crow down until he thought of something to do. Further and further up the wooded hill he ran. He knew the Crow weren't too far off; he could hear their movements as they attempted to move through the trees.

He reached the graveyard at the top of the hill, the place where the Angel of Life, the Dawn Goddess, was said to visit. For a moment, Lavi wished that what Ronald had told him was true, that the Noah still did exist, that they would come to his aid. But even if they did, they wouldn't remember him. He was just another human to them.

...

Link prepared to follow the Crow and Lavi, prepared to finish this. Link was certain, even before this mission, that the Bookman wouldn't spill the information about the Noah and the possibility that the Earl had returned. The akuma attack on this village wasn't an isolated incident. It happened many other places as well across the globe.

Bending slightly at the knees, Link moved for a Crow-like jump over the building to follow his men, but he suddenly felt a weight pull against him. He looked down to find a blond girl, her hair braided, a strange rash on her face, crying.

"Please don't kill Mr. Bookman," she cried. "He's the only one who'd teach us how to read and add!"

"He's your… teacher?" Link stared at her. These words he didn't expect to hear. Surely this child was just making up stories, but he saw the other girls nod in agreement.

She nodded. "I want to learn what the boys learn!"

Link took a deep breath. This was only making his job harder. This Noah's Bookman was making a difference in this village. Link'd been loyal to the Vatican for years, training and dedicating himself to the Crow then the Order, even spent time on a secret mission, but right now he was doubting himself. It was an order from Malcolm, but suddenly he was thinking of Lavi as a person instead of a target.

...

He had to do something. He had to lose those Crow. The forest was only serving to slow them down. Lavi turned, withdrawing the staff from his pocket. He brought it to his shoulder, then brought the staff to the ground, bringing up a defensive wall to hopefully block their advances.

He turned to change directions and flee down the side of the hill back towards the village, only to lose his footing. He caught his shoe on a rock and fell forward. Gravity kept him tumbling. Something cracked, and Lavi hoped that it wasn't his arm. He couldn't tell. He was tumbling too fast, hitting the ground hard over and over again until he finally hit something cold.

Water. There was a lake at the bottom of the hill beside the village. It was cold and smelled stagnant. It was also shallow, so he pulled himself to his feet, water streaming from his hair down his face.

Lavi knew he could command the elements, but he hadn't really tried with a lake. No time like the present as the Crow leapt from the trees. Lavi reached for his staff, only to find it wasn't there. Whatever, it was just a stick. He could improvise without it.

He pulled up the hand with the akuma shard embedded in it. He drew a circle in the air, and sure enough the water followed suit, creating a rather large tidal wave which effectively soaked the Crow around him. Again and again, he pushed the water at them, attempting to push them back, until the water suddenly stopped. He looked down to find spell paper wrapped around his wrist, effectively shutting off his power.

"Get off!" he fussed at the paper, attempting to pull at it.

The Crows surrounded him, plastering him with spell papers until he couldn't move anymore. He fought against the papers but to no avail. A Crow behind him blindfolded Lavi.

"We should kill him," one Crow suggested.

"Sir, we have orders to take him alive," another protested.

"Then make it look like an accident," the first one stated rather forcefully.

This was it, wasn't it? The Bookman line would end here and the histories he knew would be lost. Lavi braced himself. He knew it wouldn't do him any good, but he did it anyway.

Something burst on his right, followed by a large splash and the sound of hundreds of flapping wings. The wings flew behind Lavi, right to left. As heavy splashing sounds followed the flapping, and Lavi could feel the shift in the water from the impacts which came from all sides. The Crow. They were being killed.

"How are you alive?!" the first Crow shouted.

There was no answer, only more flapping of wings and the sound of his body hitting the ground. The papers which had bound the Bookman fell off as the owner of the spell had quite promptly died. Lavi stood up quickly from the water, pulling off the blindfold. He turned around to see hundreds of Tease fluttering about. They surrounded a figure dressed in a nice suit.

"Tyki?"

…

**Author's musings:**

MORE VILLAINY. So yeah. Link survived. Because of all of the Central Guys, I like Link the best, with his stubborn ways and curious two spots on his forehead. I mean, how could I kill off Two-spot?! I've already killed off half the cast.


	6. Little brother

The Noah stood on the surface of the water surrounded by hundreds of Tease. He was tall and slender, wearing a black suit, accompanied by a gold vest and white gloves. His hair was long, pulled back into a ponytail, jet black, and slick; his bangs framing his rather slender face. He wore square-framed glasses which he pushed up slightly with his forefinger.

"Hello, little brother," he grinned. He looked quite different from the previous Tyki but that smile was definitely the same.

"Ya... remember me...?" Lavi noted, somewhat surprised. Lavi knew that Noah could be reborn, and he also knew they wouldn't necessarily remember their previous selves. Lavi was just a human. There was no reason Tyki would remember him. Then again, he wasn't sure how Tyki was there in the first place. He saw the Earl die, and without the Earl, the Noah couldn't return. Seemed he was wrong about that.

"Noah don't forget their family," Tyki replied, extending a hand to his human brother.

Link rushed up the hill with the remaining Crow in tow. The words of the girl were still fresh in his mind. This Bookman was their teacher, but Link had a job to do and he didn't like to disappoint his superiors.

The blond paused near the edge of the woods, halting his party quickly at the sight of the hundreds of Tease still fluttering about at the edge of the lake. The bodies of the Crow floated face down in the water, dead, save for one who lay face down on the shore, also dead.

He could see the Noah talking with the Bookman. Link didn't recognize the Noah as one he'd seen before, but he wasn't sure how Noah came back. It was something he wanted to know, something his superiors desired as well. That knowledge would greatly help in stopping the Noah before the threat even started.

But that wouldn't be happening today, would it? The Noah had taken out over half the Crow Link had with him. Fighting the Noah would probably result in his own death.

Tyki extended his hand to his little human brother. "Come, the Earl's expecting us."

Lavi paused for a moment, staring at the new Tyki standing on the water before him. "Here I thought I was alone again."

"Not at all," Tyki grinned, looking directly at Link with a smug, victorious smile. A gate formed behind them, his golden eyes still fixed on Link for a moment before he turned and pulled Lavi through the gate. The Tease followed quickly, and the gate closed behind them, leaving Link with several Crows dead in the water save for the one dead on the shore.

...

His boots squeaked on the marble floor of the hallway. This place Tyki had taken him was ornate. Marble floors, decorative columns embedded in the walls, gold paint on the wallpaper. This was high class, and here Lavi was, dripping wet and dressed like a low-class shopkeeper, leaving a trail of water behind him as he followed Tyki down the hallway. The scenery was different than the last time he'd visited the Earl's estate. This time it felt more human and a touch feminine. He wondered who the decorator was. Perhaps Cyril. This seemed like his tastes.

But the Noah could be entirely different. Tyki didn't have the same appearance as his predecessor. This one appeared to be some sort of Asian mix while the prior was Portuguese. Their styles of clothes were a bit different, but both still had the same flair of formalities. His stride was different from the previous Tyki's, much more refined and elegant.

Would his name be Tyki anyway? It could be something completely different as Tyki's Noah name was Joido, but Tyki was his human name. Lavi hadn't really asked, and this Tyki hadn't exactly bothered to correct him.

Tyki and Lavi rounded the corner into the tea room where sat a very elegant woman. Her face was barely visible under a very large hat, which was adorned with fabric roses and an extravagantly long feather. Her dress was white with poofy sleeves, a corset, and a long skirt with multiple petticoats underneath.

She rose from her seat on the couch, setting her tea down on the table, and quickly pulled Lavi into her with a very tight, somewhat dramatic embrace. "It's good to see you, Lavi-pon~ "

Lavi's one visible eye widened. At first, by her movements, he figured this to be Cyril, but he quickly realized he was wrong. The oversize hat should've given it away, but in its wake, the manner of speech did instead. "Earl?"

"That's right, dear~ " she replied.

Lavi paused for a moment. He'd spent the last five years trying to separate himself from this record. He spent five years trying to forget what he saw, how one by one they were all taken down in the final battle until the Earl and Neah killed one another. But the Noah had done something to Lavi: they opened his heart and gave him the family he'd never had.

And not even in a moment's notice, it all came back to him. The feeling of belonging and acceptance. Their need for him to complete their story. His need to be with them. Memories of their adventures and getting to meet all the Noah. Everything he tried to separate from himself was there within his reach. And he wanted it back.

Lavi returned the hug, burying his face in her shoulder. "I thought I'd never see any'a ya ever again. I saw you 'n Neah kill each other."

"Ohoho~ You cannot kill that which cannot die~ " the Earl replied, a broad grin spanning her delicate features. She released him from the hug and motioned towards the couches. "Do tell us how you survived. We believed you were very much dead."

"Old man Bookman faked my death," Lavi replied, taking a seat on the couch. They were such nice couches and Lavi was still somewhat wet from the lake. He placed a hand on his chest. He could still feel the pain as if it had just happened yesterday.

"When Kanda stabbed me through the chest, he didn't realize my heart's on the right side. He missed. The old man hit me with a paralizin' agent usin' an acupuncture needle t' make it look like Kanda hadn't missed, 'n I keeled over. I was conscious for a while, watchin' the battle, watchin' everyone go down one by one. Finally lost consciousness after the Earl 'n Neah took each other down. Woke up 'bout six months later after my body'd finally healed."

The Earl and Tyki had both fallen silent. The Earl held her teacup so tightly that the handle shattered within her grip. Her expression hardened.

"Everyone believed me dead 'til a few days ago," the redhead concluded.

"This isn't the first incident?" Tyki spoke up.

Lavi shook his head. "Few days ago, an akuma attacked the village where I'm stayin'. I fought it since I didn't want it eatin' all my sources, but the thing got me in the shoulder." He pulled the collar of his shirt down to show rather large teeth marks which were still healing slowly. "Exorcists intervened 'n they recognized me. That Lenalee said she would keep my presence a secret, but we see how that went."

"Exorcists can never be trusted," the Earl smirked ear to ear, pouring herself a new cup of tea. "Their only purpose is to be crushed~ " Now there was the Earl Lavi clearly remembered. Sadistically cheerful with a smile that defied human anatomy.

Tyki nodded in agreement, a somewhat unsettling grin spanning his soft features. "It is a pleasure to crush them."

"Now, Lavi-pon~ ," the Earl continued. "Do consider staying with us. The family just wouldn't be complete without you~ "

Lavi nearly dropped his teacup. He hadn't quite expected those words to come from the Earl. Then again, until about half an hour ago, Lavi fully expected the Noah to not remember him. He quickly regained his composure, careful not to spill the tea. He'd made enough of a mess already, coming into this nice home soaking wet.

"'course. Wouldn't have it any other way." Lavi didn't even give it second thought. Even after all the time he tried to detach himself, he was drawn right back in. He couldn't leave, no matter how much he knew he couldn't stay. "And I don't like t' leave a record unfinished, 'n the current one links to you, Dawn Goddess."

"Ohoho~ " the Earl laughed. So he'd heard about that. "I do so adore that legend~"

"Though I gotta know," Lavi changed the subject briefly. "How _did_ ya find me?" It couldn't have been through the akuma, as it was destroyed, popped like a balloon by an Exorcist.

"I've been hearing about a redhead named Bookman in the area~" The Earl replied, taking another sip of tea. "I had to know, so I sent dear Tyki here to investigate~ "

"The trail of Crow gave your position away," Tyki added. "And they were _fun _to play with." He seemed pleased with his work, perhaps even more pleased that he soon would have more Tease in his possession.

The Earl stood up suddenly. "And now, come~ " she said, pushing on a snap on her waistband. She took the side of the skirt and pulled it off almost ceremoniously unwrapping it from her waist petticoat and all, tossing it on the back of the sofa. Underneath she wore pressed pants, much as the human Earl had done before. "Let's fix up that shoulder, Lavi-pon~ "

…

**Author's musings**

They're back! Ohohoho~


	7. That's not my name

Five days had passed since the Crow had chased the Bookman down the streets of the village. No one was certain what had happened. Most had assumed him dead though no body had been found in the forest.

It wasn't exactly clear when he'd returned, perhaps quietly sometime in the middle of the night. His sudden appearance in front of the bookstore in the early hours of the morning drew a surprising amount of attention. He'd returned despite the persistence of his family, determined to finish his mapping of local legends before moving on to finish the ultimate record of the Noah.

His shoulder had healed and he had returned with an unusual black necklace around his neck. The necklace was a very thin twisted chain, rather ordinary if one were high class, but the Bookman seemed very low class with a high class education.

The crowd of the villagers had surrounded him, offering words of relief and surprise to see the Bookman had returned. Chrissy, the girl with the unusual rash on the side of her face, had begged Link not to kill Bookman. She told the village what she'd seen and cried for days, believing her mentor was lost to the world. She seemed the most pleased to see his return. Lavi met each one with a smile, replying that it was good to be back.

Yet not all were pleased with his return. Father James pushed his way through the crowd to the front, placing himself between the crowd and Lavi, meeting the Bookman with a stern scowl. He was the local preacher who rarely seemed happy with his position, an ordained priest and yet he was stuck preaching to one of the poorest populations in the area. He put on the air that he was better than the rest of the village.

For the past five days, Father James had changed his sermons to something a little more malicious. He recognized the robes of the Crow as servants to the Vatican. There was only one reason the Vatican would be after the unusual redhead who had come from nowhere overnight. The Vatican hunted demons, so Lavi had to be one.

"You shouldn't have returned, demon," Father James threatened.

Lavi stared for a second. "Excuse me?"

He pushed his crucifix out at Lavi, who simply frowned in return. "Begone, demon! The power of Christ compels you!"

Lavi calmly wrapped his hand around the cross and the Father's hand, rather unimpressed. He really wasn't all that compelling. "Ain't a demon."

Surprise hit the Father hard. He wasn't expecting such a bold maneuver. "Then why was the Vatican after you?" he demanded.

"Simple," Lavi replied, releasing the cross and shoving his hand back into his pants pocket. "I know somethin' they think I shouldn't. I'm a historian. It happens more often than ya might think. They got their robes in a bunch 'bout it but we worked out an agreement." It was the truth, though the agreement wasn't something to shake hands over. The Vatican knew that Lavi was once again under Noah protection and would probably leave him alone temporarily. He'd have enough time to finish his records of the area before they returned to harass him.

The villagers understood his explanation as it made perfect sense, but Father James wanted nothing of it. "Just who are you really? Bookman's not really your name, is it?"

Lavi paused. He wasn't expecting such a straightforward question. He could fool the villagers by giving them an alias and bribing them with an education no one else would offer, but the Father was more educated and more set in believing that the Vatican could do no wrong.

"You're right," Lavi replied. "Bookman ain't my name cuz I don't have one. I'm an orphan. I was adopted into a family." He skewed the truth a bit. He had given up a name years ago when he became a Bookman's apprentice, thrown away his original identity. His mentor was his only family until he became close to the Noah. And now that his old man had wandered off alone, probably to retire, he only had the Noah. "Taught me a lot, yanno? They didn't call me Bookman, though. They called me-"

"Lavi~!" she interjected, wrapping her slender arms around his shoulders to cover his eyes playfully.

Lavi didn't recognize the voice yet he knew exactly who it was. There was only one person who smelled of candy and fresh nail polish. So she had been reborn again, as well. She was late to arrive but still somehow perfectly on time. "Hello, Rhode~"

Surprise washed over the crowd. Even Father James was taken by surprise. No one was entirely sure when the girl had arrived but all knew who she was. Quickly they all took a knee and bowed politely, even the younger children and Father James. Yet it wasn't her sudden arrival that was most surprising. It was that the casual, laid back Mr. Bookman's adoptive family was nobility.

Rhode leaned over Lavi's shoulder playfully. She didn't look too differently, more as though Rhode had simply grown up. Her face was older, she was also taller, and her hair was still in that messy short bob she so adored. She could choose to look however she pleased, after all. Her voice sounded more mature than before, though it still had the childish ring to it that Lavi remembered. Her style hadn't changed much, as she wore a dark blue long layered, ruffled dress.

"I just came home when I heard you'd just left," she continued, ignoring the crowd of villagers kneeling before them. "I _had_ to find you~. It's been too long." Neither Earl nor Tyki had made mention of her during his stay, which indicated she'd recently awoken.

Lavi understood the metaphor and was rather curious to know what Rhode thought of the new Earl. They probably got along smashingly and compared dresses.

"I do hope you're taking good care of my little brother," she chided, finally turning her attention to the crowd. She narrowed her brown eyes at the Father. She heard what he said, how he had cornered her precious little brother. He would pay for that. Father James seemed to zone out a moment, wobbling a little as he knelt. He drew a hand to his forehead as Rhode fished around in his mind.

"Why don't we get some sweets? Catch up on things, yeah?" Lavi offered suddenly. He'd seen Rhode's power when she tore through Miranda Lotto at the final battle. He knew what she was doing, and while he wanted dearly to see the Father suffer, right now wasn't the time. He was an important member of the community. She could kill him when no one was looking. "Cara's got a bakery down the street I think you'll like. Ain't cakes, but the pastries're great."

Rhode released her grip on the Father, turning her attention back to her little brother. She remembered him well enough to know Lavi had a reason for stopping her. She could read his surface thoughts, and she carefully replied with an enticing suggestion, one which caused the Bookman to smirk slightly. She had no intention of harming his mind but instead was just using some thoughtful communication. "That sounds like a great idea~."

...

The night was crisp and cool. A gentle breeze gently pushed against the bells in the church tower; the bells whispered over the symphony of crickets and frogs which only appeared during the night.

Father James knelt before altar in the empty room, his hands knit in thought and worry. He hadn't trusted the Bookman since he'd arrived, and his story about the Vatican's reasoning for chasing him didn't match up. He wasn't gullible enough to buy Lavi's stories and flattery, even if the man was an excellent liar.

Yet what the Father hadn't expected was his relation with the nobility. Why would they go out of their way to adopt some street rat and educate him? Or perhaps Lavi was of noble blood and was fooling them all.

James opened his eyes, looking up that the life-size crucifix hanging from the wall. He turned sharply when he heard a strange noise, but he couldn't see anyone. The room was dark save for a few candles at the altar. "Who's there?"

"I'm going to have fun breaking you~" she replied, stepping out into the light. Tall and slender, she wore a short white dress with copious amounts of tulle underneath and black web-like sleeves. Her skin was gray, contrasted with her golden eyes and the stigmata crown across her forehead.

"Lady... Camelot?" James stammered. "No, what are you?"

Rhode didn't reply, only smiled deviously, twisting her features into something inhuman. Lavi stepped out from the shadows behind her, his expression flat and emotionless. He found it interesting Rhode had continued to carry her human name of Camelot even though she certainly was a different person. Then again, Lavi wasn't sure Rhode Camelot was a real person but instead a persona Rhode and Cyril had created.

"You'll pay for mistreating my little brother," she finally said, threateningly. Her eyes flickered as she overtook his mind, twisting and contorting it. James clawed at his face, unable to break free of the nightmare. Then as quickly as it had begun, it ended, leaving James dead on the floor.

"What did he dream about?" Lavi asked, unmoved by the torment Rhode had caused.

"His worst nightmare~" she replied, still grinning. "He was covered spiders. Then they ate him."

…**.**

**Author's notes:**

Our favorite little Dreamer has returned~! I had considered changing Rhode's appearance, but since she can choose what she looks like and chose that appearance originally, she'd simply age herself up a bit. She has her reasoning, but you'll have to wait to see what it is.

And that suspicious new necklace Lavi is sporting is exactly what you think it is: dark matter.


	8. Death and Life and Death again

"He's definitely dead." the Bookman frowned, kneeling next to the lifeless body of Father James. The villagers had found him this morning when arriving for Sunday Mass. They knew of Lavi's abilities as a medic, as the redhead had reset a few bones a few weeks prior, so they called him in for a second look. The crowd, predominantly women, gathered closely behind him in anticipation. "Looks like for awhile, too."

"There anything you can do, milord?" Cara asked, worried. Who would do such a thing to their priest? He was a good man.

"Knock off the 'milord' stuff, kay?," Lavi frowned, making a shoo motion with his hand. "Ain't really lordly. Just call me Bookman, yeah?"

The villagers were all already on edge. Six days ago, the Crow had chased Lavi through the streets. The villagers had believed him dead until yesterday morning when Lavi had suddenly and mysteriously returned. Then they learned about his noble family roots, which made many feel very uncomfortable. They'd always been taught to treat royalty like gods, and Lavi wanted none of it. He only wanted to be treated as a regular person.

"T' answer your question," Lavi continued. "Can't do a thing for 'em 'cept maybe bury him. Whatever happened 't him, it ain't exactly reversible." Lavi knew what happened to him. He'd witnessed it the night before when Rhode tore through his mind and literally scared him to death with his own nightmares.

"What 'bout the Goddess of Life?" Connor, the baker, suggested. "Ronald's seen the magic she can do."

"Don't you remember what it did to Howard?" Cara, the baker's wife, protested. Lavi perked up, interested. Ronald had mentioned Howard wasn't himself after he prayed to the Goddess to have his son back but never fully specified what happened to him or why he was no longer in the village.

"He walked around like the living dead," she continued, "'til he drowned himself in the lake."

Chances were, the akuma inside Howard had simply burst from his skin, leaving a shell of himself in the lake. That would definitely seem like Howard had drowned himself. "That sounds like a big risk," Lavi interjected somewhat flatly. "Ya sure ya wanna do that? Do ya want him back that badly?"

The villagers fell silent for a moment. Bringing the Father back to life had a huge risk to it, and while the Father was well-liked among the people, they wouldn't risk their own lives for him. Except for maybe one: Vanessa. She was young, about 16 with soft skin, big red lips, and wavy brown hair. While she was half the Father's age, he'd taken her as his wife. Lavi had been certain Vanessa despised James as she never seemed happy around him, yet she'd been quietly sobbing at the edge of the crowd since the body was found. She hadn't spoken a word but her expression of debate and pain spoke loudly, indicating she was actually considering making the sacrifice for him. _Foolish woman_, the Bookman thought.

"Guess we should bury him," Sandy, the cobbler's wife, broke the silence. "Probably could get the priest in the next village over to say some prayers for 'im." The crowd nodded. It sounded like a reasonable plan.

...

A solemn silence fell upon the village. Lavi had canceled classes for the time being, allowing the people time to mourn. This also gave him more time to freely move about the village. Rain began to fall later in the morning, casting dark shadows on the streets. Lavi wrapped himself in a green hooded cloak, protecting himself from the rain. He slipped passed the villagers, unnoticed, listening to their conversations. Nothing of interest, save the several mentions of the Goddess of Life. They were simply mentions, nothing more. No one wanted to make the sacrifice to bring back the priest.

But there was something else. Some of the people were starting to talk in metaphors, speaking of a bat that had come to poison their children. A few of the men were gathered, speaking of how the bat needed to be dealt with. Lavi figured it to be a vampire bat, as those did dwell in the area due to the livestock in the next town over, so he moved on. And then he heard it again. Talk of the bat. This had to be one large bat to have the whole town speaking about it at such a solemn moment.

Sandy and Ronald had left on foot shortly after the conversation over James' dead body, hoping to get the aid of the priest from a neighboring village to say the proper prayers. They returned only recently, returning not with a priest but a sole Exorcist.

Lavi didn't recognize the Exorcist. He was tall and slender, about 16, pale with bright blond hair. He spoke softly with a thick German accent. His coat looked standard issue but quite long, reaching nearly to his ankles. His hands were wrapped as if from an injury. His movements were awkward, as if he were still adjusting to his bond with Innocence. He carried a bow over one shoulder, though he had no arrows or quiver with it.

Lavi stayed behind the villagers who had come to give their respects, silently blending into the crowd. He cared little for the ceremony but was instead carefully watching this new Exorcist. The Exorcist had glanced at Lavi several times but hadn't made a move to approach or speak with him.

Almost as suddenly as he'd arrived, the Exorcist suddenly left after the ceremony, slipping away to return to wherever he came from. Lavi watched him go, trailing him for a bit until he'd left the village. Lavi had no reason to follow him any further and instead chose to return back to his house.

"Lavi-pon~ "

Lavi hadn't quite reached his house when the voice caught his attention. He turned to find the Earl in her rotund form. She looked very similar to the previous Earl, though instead of dress pants, she wore something akin to bloomers under the coat. Her hat was big and floppy, decorated with flowers and a feather. It was a more feminine hat than her predecessor wore, which was a decorated gentleman's top hat. It looked a little ridiculous as the brim rested on her large ears.

"Come~ ," she offered her hand. "It's time to make akuma~ "

...

Vanessa knelt on the ground, mud covering her skirt. She'd been crying for some time as her eyes were puffy. She knit her hands together, praying for a miracle. She was a good Christian girl, told all her life to not pray to false gods, and yet there she was, out of options, praying to a goddess in the rain. "Please, Goddess of Light, please bring back my dear, darling husband."

A door of the Ark appeared and the Earl dramatically entered, taking a perch atop a nearby tombstone. She carried her usual pink umbrella yet no rain fell on her, almost as if she could bend it around her. Lavi had arrived through the door as well, but the Earl's introduction was so dramatic, he was able to slip off unnoticed. He stood relatively near the Earl's side, using his ability to hide in plain sight to simply observe.

Vanessa's eyes opened wide in surprise. She had thought the villager's stories mere fantasy and wives' tales, and yet there the Goddess was, real as day.

"Of course dear~ " The Earl grinned ear to ear, summoning a dark matter skeleton between them. "All you have to do is call out to him. Call his name. Bring him back~ "

Vanessa couldn't understand what the villagers were making a fuss about. This seemed so easy, so right, to bring her beloved back. "My beloved James! Come back to me!"

A sharp wind rushed suddenly through the forest as the soul was being ripped from the afterlife and thrust into the dark matter skeleton. It moved slightly, wiggling its fingers. "Va... Vanessa? What's... going on?"

"James, my love!" she exclaimed. "You've returned to me! You died overnight. I couldn't bear to lose you!"

"I... was killed," he countered. "By... by him." He attempted to move to point but his body wasn't responding to his mind. He didn't have control.

Vanessa glanced over and for the first time noticed Lavi had been standing beside the Earl, his arms folded beneath his cloak. His expression was flat and emotionless, contrary to the friendly air he usually wore. James had been right all along. The Bookman wasn't who he said he was.

"James was right! You are evil!" she quickly took the hand of the skeleton, prepared to take it with her and run. "We have to warn everyone! They have to listen to you now!" She tugged on the skeleton's arm but it didn't move, remaining where it floated.

"I'm really gettin' tired'a the Church always interferin' with my records." Lavi narrowed his one visible eye at the remains of James.

The villagers had been on edge since he'd returned the morning before. He'd considered it was because of the Crow's sudden appearance but there was always something more to it, something no one talked about. Not everyone bought whatever it was. Those he'd talked to frequently stayed around him. Women and children did too. Yet there were others who inexplicably strayed away from him, particularly most of the men in the village. Now it all made sense. Rumors.

"Foolish woman~ " the Earl hissed, her appearance becoming a bit more sinister. With a flick of the Earl's wrist and a silent command, the skeleton jerked to life, placing its hands in Vanessa's mouth and prying her jaw open.

"Sthop! Wha are you doin?!" she screamed, attempting to pry the hands from her mouth, yet the skeleton was much too strong for her. "Help! HEEEEELLLLP!"

...

The cries for help barreled down the hillside, invading the village. The people were still mourning the loss of James. They couldn't lose another.

"That sounded like Vanessa!" one of the women shouted. Several of the men grabbed tools and headed for the forest. They were a bit hesitant as the last encounter involved some sort of demon, yet they went anyway. And while the Bookman had helped protect the village from this demon, Father James had cast doubt in their minds. They feared the possibility that the man who taught their children actually was evil.

There were few among the crowd who didn't share this belief, however, Ronald in particular who had spoken to Lavi on many occasions. He didn't believe the nonsense that Lavi was a demon. It was ridiculous. Lavi was one of the friendliest people he'd met.

Lavi was kneeling at Vanessa's side when the mob had arrived. The Earl had left the scene after her work was done. Lavi requested to stay behind to continue for only awhile longer as he finished documenting the tales and legends of the village. He didn't like to leave records unfinished, and while he had two records open at the moment, the one with the village would be concluded much more quickly than the one with the Noah.

"'nother demon," Lavi lied. He held her in his arms, cradling her head as if she'd hit it. "Attacked when she was prayin' t' the statue."

"She'd never pray to the Goddess of Life," one man objected. "You brought 'er here!"

Lavi stared incredulously at the man. He'd never really talked to the man before. He owned a tailor shop or something. No one was particularly clear about it. "I followed her here," Lavi countered. "Wanted t' make sure she didn't do somethin' she'd regret. I know what happened t' Howard. Didn't seem right t' let it happen again, yanno?"

"Don't lie to us!" the tailor shouted again.

"Now hold up," Ronald stepped out in front of the crowd. "Mr. Bookman's done nothing but help us since he got here. He's saved my kids."

"Those _things_ never showed up before _he _came here!" the blacksmith added. Lavi hadn't really talked to the blacksmith either. He had no children or a wife, and he didn't seem to care about reading or writing. "Now get out of the way before we take you with him."

"Now let's be reasonable, Jeremy," Ronald countered the blacksmith. "We got no proof he caused them to be here, not that I'd believe it for one second."

One of the other men swung a shovel. Lavi barely noticed it coming, as Ronald was in the line of sight. Regardless, the Bookman pulled on the cobbler's shirt to try to get him out of the way, only for Ronald to be grazed by it enough to make him dizzy and start blacking out.

The other men grabbed Lavi. He was a string bean compared to them, but that wasn't a reason to count him out. Lavi was deceptively strong, but they had numbers to their advantage. It was one against the world.

…

**Author's musings:**

Lavi makes a risky decision to stay behind after the Earl takes her leave, probably despite better judgment. He had no reason to believe that the village would turn on him like an angry mob like this, but alas they do. Humans are such fickle creatures.


	9. The Bat is Poisoning our Children

The mob had managed to bind Lavi's hands behind him, despite the force and struggle he put up. He dug the heels of his boots into the ground as far as they could go, but it seemed like no use. He simply couldn't stop them. Much of the village had suddenly turned against him, believing him the source of the odd happenings around town, first the appearance of the akuma, then Father James's death, then the incident with Vanessa on the hillside. While he was partially responsible for the second, the first and third weren't exactly his doing. He was just an observer.

"Lemme go!" he shouted at them, fighting against their strength. While Lavi was considerably stronger than he appeared from lifting books and traveling, he didn't have the strength to fight several grown men who made a living off bending metal and cutting wood.

They dragged the redhead into the town square before they finally let him go, throwing him rather hard to the ground. Jeremy the blacksmith placed a firm foot on Lavi's back to ensure he didn't move, effectively pinning him to the ground. The younger children who had been playing in the street all scattered horribly frightened. Some of the older children stayed, staring at the scene as if they were trying to figure out if it were real or not.

"What are you doing, Jeremy?!" Sandy, Ronald's wife, fussed at him. She'd come out of her house after hearing the scream but didn't follow the mob. She had her children to watch after, returning to her house to let Ronald take care of the situation. When the commotion returned, she nearly leapt from the house, brandishing a ladle at the blacksmith. "Let him go! Stop it!"

The blacksmith frowned, pushing her shoulders to knock her off balance then disarm her, forcibly pulling the ladle from her hand and tossing it behind him. "The _bat_ can no longer poison the children."

She'd heard of the rumors surfacing around town, even attended the sermons given by Father James. She knew they were all false, that the father was just spreading lies. She couldn't understand why a devout man would do such a thing, and she'd felt herself quickly losing her faith.

But she didn't actually believe anyone would carry out Father James's vicious sermons, hoping to forcibly exorcise the demon or even kill the vampire bat. It was ridiculous, and even the uneducated woman could understand this.

"You don't even have children!" Sandy logically shot back. "He's done so much good for all of mine! He's not poisoning them! Open your eyes 'n see the damn truth, you fool!"

The tailor and the wood carver stepped forward, placing a hand on either of her shoulders and held Sandy back, preventing her from interfering. They had to be rid of this menace and not let a demon roam around the town, lest there be more deaths on their hands. They had enough trouble with diseases. They didn't need demons too.

"A week ago, we all thought Mr. Bookman was a godsend!" Sandy continued protesting, fighting best she could against the two strong men holding her back. She wasn't very strong herself, most of her strength stemming from caring for the children and carrying supplies. "Do you truly believe what he'd said was right? Are you seriously that blind?!"

"Father James opened our eyes to the truth," the tailor answered sharply, firmly believing that Sandy was the wrong one.

Lavi had a strange sense of curiosity to know what the priest had actually said. He'd managed to turn the opinion around so quickly, in less than a week. The people here were barely educated. Most couldn't read, write, or do math. Education was a rarity, and the Bookman brought it to the village at such a cheap price. He never spoke about himself, which was undoubtedly suspicious. And then there was the battle with the Crow, something Lavi couldn't fully explain to the villagers. The Father's planting a seed of doubt among the men was probably relatively easy.

"And now we end this!" the blacksmith announced triumphantly with a hint of cockiness in his voice, pulling back a hoe over his shoulder. "Good bye, bat!" He brought the hoe downward, aiming the blade at Lavi's neck.

This was it, wasn't it? Lavi had no way of calling for help and the few friends he had left in this village couldn't do anything to stop them. There were too many turned against him. Fighting against them was pointless too. They had quickly overpowered him. He'd skirted death many times, but now his luck was finally out. How stupid he was for deciding to stay in the village. How stupid they were for believing such lies.

He hated them. He truly did.

_I don't want to die yet._

"Stop~ "

...

Ronald stumbled down the hillside. The side of his face was bleeding, yet he was still conscious, still alive. The Bookman had tried to save him but the mob had been too much for the both of them. There was still time to stop them. They couldn't have gotten that far.

Sure enough, he could see them amassed in the street as he stumbled out of the wood's edge and into the village. He sped up as much as he could to stop them, to prevent them from doing something they'd regret for the rest of their lives. They weren't murderers. They were just misled by a deceitful man. They all had trusted Father James, and he misled them all.

He suddenly stopped when he noticed no one had moved, as if everyone had suddenly frozen in time. Time couldn't just stop. It wasn't possible. And yet there everyone was, paused, unmoving. James had nearly killed Lavi, Sandy was in the middle of screaming for him to stop, and the children had all huddled up together in fear.

Ronald peered around the corner and spotted the source of the pause. It all completely made sense now. There she stood, a familiar form he hadn't expected to see ever again. "The Goddess of Life..."

...

The so-called Goddess of Life approached Lavi with a bit of a skip. "Lavi-pon~ " She'd taken her suited form, choosing a large floppy hat with several feathers and beads just for the rescue.

Lavi opened his eye, hesitantly as if looking would make the Earl go away. He was letting his mind run rampant with fear, but what else could he think at the moment? He was a Bookman, a supposedly logical breed of human that surpassed all other of his kind. But in truth, he was just as vulnerable as the rest of them. The people of the village had suddenly turned against him and attacked him like he was a wild and vicious animal out to kill the children.

He looked up towards the sky, his eye quickly widening with surprise when he saw how close the blacksmith had gotten to him. They were all frozen stiff like a collection of statues eternally stuck in a tragic situation, and Lavi's head was still very much attached.

Tyki and Rhode arrived, both dressed rather formally. Tyki had kept to the formal suit, much like his predecessor, though he preferred to not wear a top hat. He pushed his glasses further up his nose, waiting for Rhode. She reached him with a skip in her step, wearing her white Noah outfit with the ripped black tights. Together, they pulled the shocked Bookman out from under the weight of the blacksmith's foot and away from his attack. They set him on his feet, and Tyki simply phased the rope through Lavi's arms.

"I'm so glad to see all'a you," Lavi sighed with relief. "I thought that'd truly be the end." He patted his neck with one hand as if he weren't entirely certain his head were still attached. After he was satisfied with the effort, he wiped the blood off his forehead with his sleeve.

"You've died once," the Earl replied, wagging her long slender finger at him matter-of-factly. "We won't make that mistake again~ "

...

Ronald couldn't believe his ears as he listened to the unusual scene. He'd tucked himself behind the building but still within range to hear the entire conversation. He'd kept himself out of sight and attempted to keep quiet as he gaped at what the Earl had said. The Bookman had _died_. And he personally knew the Goddess of Life and these strange, definitely not-human people. What was he? Thoughts and ideas crossed the cobbler's mind, many of which were fantastic and probably belonged in legends and not reality. But possibly, just possibly, could he have been an angel instead of a demon?

...

Lavi smiled, relieved and pleased that they still accepted him as their own. It still hadn't quite sunken in that he remained in their Noah memories. He was just a human among them, someone writing their history as it happened. He was vulnerable and breakable. He'd already died once, that blade through his chest where his heart should have been. He thought everything would change at that moment, changing for the worse as he'd lost his family. He felt detached, attempting to hide his emotions for five long years. Yet here, as they stood in the middle of the town with an angry mob frozen in action, everything felt different. It wasn't as the redhead as expected. It was like before the final battle between the Noah and the Exorcists. He was back where he belonged.

"I shoulda listened," Lavi stated flatly, shaking his head. "Ya were right. These people won't accept me."

"That's how humans are," Tyki frowned, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Fickle and violent creatures who can't accept things they don't understand. You're better off with us, Brother."

"You're right," Lavi agreed, glancing back at the near tragic scene he'd been pulled from. They were easily swayed by a religious fool, swayed so much they'd resort to murder.

"And I won't let anything else happen to you~" Rhode added, wrapping her arms around him possessively. She didn't like it when people tried to break her family.

Tyki broke away from the group, approaching the blacksmith. A single Tease fluttered from within the Noah's hand into the blacksmith's heart. "That should take care of things," Tyki said, turning back to his family, a rather hollow Noah-like smirk spanning his soft features. He needed to replenish his supply, return his army of butterfly golems back to his possession.

"Let's go home~ " the Earl offered, summoning an Ark door behind them.

The other three nodded, following her as she skipped happily towards the door. Rhode followed suit, skipping happily while the two men preferred to simply walk in.

"I gotta ask," Lavi added before they left the scene. "Who did that?" he thumbed at the frozen crowd behind him.

Tyki and Rhode both replied by pointing at the Earl.

That made sense, though the redhead hadn't seen much of the Earl's power in action in his previous record. "Gotcha," Lavi nodded as they all disappeared through the door, which simply folded itself up into a neat square before disappearing as well.

The scene resumed as soon as they'd left. The blacksmith drove the hoe into the ground, nearly knocking himself over with the sudden momentum. The mob looked on, completely dumbfounded. The redheaded victim was nowhere in sight. He'd disappeared in an instant.

"What in the world?" the blacksmith stammered. "He disappeared! I knew he wasn't human!"

"He's not," Ronald stepped out from beside the building. Unlike the rest of the onlookers, Ronald had seen and heard everything. "He was rescued by the Goddess of Life. He wasn't a demon. I think he was some kinda angel. He's back with his own kind."

And Lavi truly was, though not in the manner Ronald thought. Lavi had returned to his family, a family of Noah that was just reawakening. The war between the Noah and the Exorcists would surely rear up again. Both sides had experienced heavy losses, and both would no doubt return to their original power. Yet this time, Lavi was certain the Noah would finally end this, and he would be there to watch every moment of it.

…

**Author's musings**

So I can't really kill the main character twice, yanno. Well I _could_ but I won't be that much of a douche. I really wanted the village to be completely twisted in the wrong direction by that Father, and boy are they so jaded by his preachings, they're driven to murder someone they believe a demon. The power of charismatic suggestions. The church is starting to turn into this huge cult here. (Funny story, I've lived _near_ a major cult before.)

But anyway, I did need a reason to drive Lavi out of the village and back into the arms of his Noah siblings for good. I think this does a pretty good job of that.

Originally, this was the _ending_of the "epilogue". Yeah, pretty bad way to finally end the series. Open ended with new characters and a darker Lavi. I've gotten quite a few comments, asking me why I ended the original the way I did, and this is why. There was originally supposed to be an epilogue, but I got carried away and turned it into its own story.


	10. A Strangely Amicable Act

Lavi spent years trying to bottle up and hide these emotions, the feeling of closeness and belonging he'd developed towards the Noah family, causing him to become incredibly cold and flat. His cheery demeanor had become a mask he wore to get close to people, to use them as he saw fit to get the information he needed, then leave them behind when he was done.

But right now, it was all coming back to him quickly. He longed for the sense of belonging. And he longed to finally complete his record on the Noah. He needed them for that familial bond he desired and for protection from those who wished to kill him for what he knew. They needed him to complete the record of greatest history ever told. But there was more than that. For them, Lavi was family, and the Noah always protect their family.

Lavi idly wondered what his old man would think of him if he knew that Lavi was once again returning to the side of the Noah. The old man would probably smack him on the head, call him a fool, and make him sit on his feet for the rest of the day. Lavi hated sitting on his feet and not moving. It put them to sleep and got absolutely nothing done.

But that wouldn't happen anymore. Lavi wasn't an apprentice; he was a full-fledged Bookman in his own right. If he managed to survive long enough, he planned to take his own apprentice in time. This part of history was still left unwritten, and Lavi hated leaving things undone.

It was a return to once was, and once again he found himself in a familiar place, one he hadn't visited since he left a week prior when everything had turned for the worse. The Bookman had slipped through the village and into the shop completely unnoticed. "Sandy."

The cobbler's wife nearly jumped through the roof in surprise. "M-mister Bookman! You're alive!"

He studied her for a moment. Truthfully, he still couldn't figure out why he'd come or why he was doing this. Humans had caused him nothing but trouble, yet Ronald's attempt to protect him in the forest had made an impression on him, one his rather cold and frozen heart didn't expect. "Ya need t' leave here. Ain't safe anymore."

"If you mean that stuff with the blacksmith?" Sandy dismissed the idea. "Look, everyone's opinion changed when Ronald told him what happened. That you're some kinda angel."

Lavi paused. That wasn't quite the response he'd expected. As far as the Bookman knew, Ronald had been knocked out old on the hillside. Perhaps he somehow had awoken and stumbled across the final scene. Regardless of the manner, Ronald certainly was different than the rest of this village, and in a strange way, he wanted to protect him and his family. He couldn't understand it quite yet. It didn't make any sense. They were just ink on the page.

"Not the blacksmith," he corrected her. He didn't bother correcting her about the angel part. How could he explain what he was doing with people who seemed superhuman? It was best she believed him an angel so she'd listen.

But another thought arose. He had to find a way to explain it to her why she needed to leave. The true reason was that Tyki had planted some Tease within the blacksmith himself. Soon those creatures would hatch, tearing apart their host and swarming the area. Vanessa, the late Father's wife, was also an akuma lying in wait. It was inevitable this rural town would be reduced to nothing.

He pulled from his pocket small bag filled to the brim with coins. He placed it in her hand. He'd received the money from the Earl. Lavi didn't explain why he needed it, nor did the Earl question it. Lavi had never been one to ask for money, but when he did, he had good reasoning. Realizing his intentions, Rhode threw in a little extra.

"Take this," Lavi offered. "I've arranged for a place for ya t' stay, good work, too."

"I can't take this," she objected quickly.

The Bookman frowned. Her actions weren't entirely unexpected. The money within the sack was more than she'd otherwise see in a lifetime. "Sandy, you-"

She quickly cut him off. "No, Mr. Bookman. We can't leave right now. Ronald fell ill two days ago."

Lavi had expected a different objection. He stopped dead in his current thoughts, shifting to the new subject presented. "What's wrong?"

Sandy paused, setting the sack of coins on the work desk then moving to shut the shop door, flipping the sign from _open _to _closed_. She leaned against the door with a heavy sigh. "I dunno. I've never seen anything like this. God forbid it's some sorta plague.

There had been plenty of plagues in the area historically. Some were minor and containable, while others, like the Black Death, nearly wiped out the population of Europe. Lavi could do without documenting a plague. "What are the symptoms?"

"He keeps grabbin' his head like somethin's poundin' on it," she replied, mimicking him by placing her hands on her head. She continued to look at the ground suddenly, dropping her hands limply at her sides. The situation was rather troubling, yet if anyone could tell what was happening, it would be the Bookman. He had shown some medical prowess in the past, so surely the resourceful redhead would have answers. "But it gets weirder. His forehead keeps bleedin' 'n this morning, he lost the color in his face. Well everywhere, really."

Lavi stared for a moment. Those symptoms weren't like anything he'd ever heard before. "Has he hit his head lately in the past two days?"

Sandy shook her head quickly. "Not at all. 'n I'm pretty sure it's not from when the blacksmith hit him in the forest."

The time difference was too great. Anything caused by the incident in the forest would've manifested by now. This was something entirely different. "Can I see 'im?"

Sandy pushed off from the wall, motioning for the Bookman to follow her. The house was tiny, with the shop taking up most of the space. The back was partitioned off into a kitchen combined with a sitting area and a single bedroom with several beds on the floor, all straw mattresses. Ronald lay on the one in the middle, surrounded by the eldest kids attempting to tend to him. He held a cloth over his face. It had bloodied a bit in a rather odd manner, almost as if someone had drawn a line of blood across it.

Lavi paused, staring at the scene as Sandy shooed the children off to the other room.

"Ronald," she knelt down next to him, placing a hand on his arm. "Dear, Mr. Bookman is here. He came back."

"La... vi," Ronald uttered.

The Bookman paused. True some knew of that name when Rhode had announced it before, but unless Sandy had told him, he wouldn't know the name. And even if he did, there was something about the way he'd said it that caused the Bookman to pause even more. "Ronald?"

"It's time," Ronald continued, "to join the angels."

"No it ain't," Sandy countered quickly, taking his hand into hers. "You're not leaving me."

The Bookman remained silent. The mention of that alias had thrown him off. And while the light was rather poor in the room, illuminated by one sole nearly depleted candle, there really was something off about Ronald's color. It wasn't just pallid, but almost as if it weren't there, that his skin had suddenly turned gray.

He stepped forward, watching and observing. The man lying in the bed was most definitely Ronald, but there were changes, subtle as they were. Most notably was the change in his facial expressions, his smile twisting to almost inhuman proportions.

"We'll all go home," Ronald added. "Won't we, little brother?"

…**.**

**Author's musings**

When I originally started writing for Ronald, I wanted to rope him into the story for a longer period of time. As the original "epilogue" had ended with the last chapter, I didn't think about it too much until later. I had come up with various ways to make Ronald part of the permanent cast. Bringing him in as a standard cobbler or putting him as part of a human waitstaff in the mansion.

But this way? I like it better. I think you get where I'm going with this one. The pressing question is, which one is he?


End file.
